Sunday, June 25, 2006
Chicago Sunset
This was taken last fall in Lincoln Park. I'm standing at the north end of Diversey Harbor. The sky grabbed me.
Au Revoir!
Studs Terkel recently had an essay about Chicago in Smithsonian Magazine. He talked about arriving in this busy metropolis as a boy of nine. He has been here over seventy years now and has seen such incredible change, but his tone, when he speaks or writes of Chicago, is always warm. He loves this town.
My five years in the Windy City are nothing to his decades, but I leave with some of the same love. My first taste of Chicago was a quick detour downtown on our way north to head to Alaska in the summer of 1998. I had the map that afternoon and managed to get my father completely mixed up--even heading the wrong way down a one-way street! But those glimpses captured my imagination. Tony Bennett hung around in the back of my head crooning “Chicago! Chicago!” In 2000, I spent ten weeks living at the--now closed--Three Arts Club in the Gold Coast and interning at Lyric Opera of Chicago. It was pretty scary, even for a military brat used to strange, new situations, and I spent the first few nights crying and/or spending money at Barnes & Noble. My therapy later extended to Marshall Field’s, Bloomingdales, Victoria’s Secret, Virgin Megastore--after all, Michigan Avenue was just a ten minute walk away . . .
The kookiest thing I did that summer was to take the train out to DuPage. I discovered the college’s Anime Club online and one of their gatherings was a day of watching fan-dubbed videos. I was so in! Looking back, I’m amazed I went through with it. I spent the night before worrying that I would get lost, miss my bus, be mugged, tortured, killed, arrested, hit on, hit up, get hit, you name it. I could only sooth my anxiety by planning for every contingency, i.e. carrying lots of cash, some of it in my socks. I also only knew one bus route, that didn’t run on Saturdays, and was not sure where the train station was. I did manage to get out there and back safely and without a hitch. I even had fun in-between.
That sort of thing is old hat now but it was big then. That’s life, I guess. My new path scares me quite a bit. I could be making the absolute biggest mistake of my life. Actually, it’s more that I’m making a big choice and am worried I will regret it later. I know, though, that I’ll regret not doing it more. Still, leaving is pretty damn depressing. It always is and maybe I leave too often, but you can’t build a life on ‘what if.”
But back to Chicago. I’ll miss you. I almost stayed because of you. Don’t change too much, but don’t stay the same. I’ll try to follow the same advice, and may we meet again.
My five years in the Windy City are nothing to his decades, but I leave with some of the same love. My first taste of Chicago was a quick detour downtown on our way north to head to Alaska in the summer of 1998. I had the map that afternoon and managed to get my father completely mixed up--even heading the wrong way down a one-way street! But those glimpses captured my imagination. Tony Bennett hung around in the back of my head crooning “Chicago! Chicago!” In 2000, I spent ten weeks living at the--now closed--Three Arts Club in the Gold Coast and interning at Lyric Opera of Chicago. It was pretty scary, even for a military brat used to strange, new situations, and I spent the first few nights crying and/or spending money at Barnes & Noble. My therapy later extended to Marshall Field’s, Bloomingdales, Victoria’s Secret, Virgin Megastore--after all, Michigan Avenue was just a ten minute walk away . . .
The kookiest thing I did that summer was to take the train out to DuPage. I discovered the college’s Anime Club online and one of their gatherings was a day of watching fan-dubbed videos. I was so in! Looking back, I’m amazed I went through with it. I spent the night before worrying that I would get lost, miss my bus, be mugged, tortured, killed, arrested, hit on, hit up, get hit, you name it. I could only sooth my anxiety by planning for every contingency, i.e. carrying lots of cash, some of it in my socks. I also only knew one bus route, that didn’t run on Saturdays, and was not sure where the train station was. I did manage to get out there and back safely and without a hitch. I even had fun in-between.
That sort of thing is old hat now but it was big then. That’s life, I guess. My new path scares me quite a bit. I could be making the absolute biggest mistake of my life. Actually, it’s more that I’m making a big choice and am worried I will regret it later. I know, though, that I’ll regret not doing it more. Still, leaving is pretty damn depressing. It always is and maybe I leave too often, but you can’t build a life on ‘what if.”
But back to Chicago. I’ll miss you. I almost stayed because of you. Don’t change too much, but don’t stay the same. I’ll try to follow the same advice, and may we meet again.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Farewell Party at Tina's
Tina (the Wonderful) hosted a farewell party for me about two weeks ago. This is a picture of the St. Peter's folks in attendance. (names provided upon request and pending security clearance) Yes, that's me in the back in a sari.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Foundation for AIDS and Immune Research
Foundation for AIDS and Immune Research
I discovered FAIR because one of their members commented on my previous post. AIDS is something I've avoided thinking too much about. I was a very young child, living in Hawaii at the time, when I first heard about it. Then it was a taboo subject as a 'product' of the gay community and I was too young to understand any of that. I was in middle or high school before I understood the true origin and nature of the disease, but I did not hear much after that. If no one is making a fuss, I assume everything is fine. (just ask my sister)
The Peace Corps application process has brought AIDS/HIV back into my life. I'll be heading into a hotbed for the disease and every volunteer in Africa has a secondary role in AIDS education and awareness no matter what their main project is. Here it barely touches my daily life. In West Africa it will affect everything.
So I'm playing catch-up and FAIR is helping! The most recent post is on current and pending treatment methods. It's encouraging, but developing countries still face the big obstacles of cost and, I assume, education. All the drugs in the world will not help if people fail to make informed decisions. This job is going to be tough!
I discovered FAIR because one of their members commented on my previous post. AIDS is something I've avoided thinking too much about. I was a very young child, living in Hawaii at the time, when I first heard about it. Then it was a taboo subject as a 'product' of the gay community and I was too young to understand any of that. I was in middle or high school before I understood the true origin and nature of the disease, but I did not hear much after that. If no one is making a fuss, I assume everything is fine. (just ask my sister)
The Peace Corps application process has brought AIDS/HIV back into my life. I'll be heading into a hotbed for the disease and every volunteer in Africa has a secondary role in AIDS education and awareness no matter what their main project is. Here it barely touches my daily life. In West Africa it will affect everything.
So I'm playing catch-up and FAIR is helping! The most recent post is on current and pending treatment methods. It's encouraging, but developing countries still face the big obstacles of cost and, I assume, education. All the drugs in the world will not help if people fail to make informed decisions. This job is going to be tough!
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
The beginning of an incredible journey!
Hi, I'm Sarah! I'm starting this blog to document, for my family and friends, my journey toward service in the Peace Corps. I was nominated in May to Community Development in West Africa, departing in May/June of 07. The materials for my medical clearance are almost complete. After that, I have to wait for the assignment telling me exactly where I'll go and what I'll be doing. Tres exciting! It's going to be a crazy year so stay tuned. As for the title, I was thinking of "The Color Purple" and wondering what my color was. It's orange, and I hope it always will be! :)
